


Merry Christmas Makoto Tachibana!!

by noezel7



Category: Free!
Genre: Charlie Brown AU, Christmas, Fluff, Gen, Poor Makoto is thinking wayyyy tooo much, post Eternal Summer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 07:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5489294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noezel7/pseuds/noezel7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto usually adores Christmas, so why is this year so different?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Merry Christmas Makoto Tachibana!!

“Makoto absolutely loved the Christmas season. The lights that would adorn the local shops, the way his siblings would ponder about what gifts they might receive, and even the music that played non-stop were wonderful in his opinion. But this year, something just felt….off.

 

It’s his last year of high school, so it’s understandable that he’s under a lot of stress. With his retirement from the swim club as the official captain (though Rei is insistent that he keep the title until he graduated), Makoto has spent most of his time getting ready for his university entrance exams. Studying is old hat at this point, something he didn’t even really give second thought to anymore. It’s the other stuff that came with moving away from home that gave him pause. How is he going to survive in a big city all by himself, when he couldn’t even cook an egg without concern of setting off every smoke alarm in the vicinity?

 

Christmas time usually gave him peace of mind and a chance to relax. Makoto really did try to get into the mood of things by helping Ran and Ren decorate their living room with ornaments they had made and even wrapping the modest presents he got his friends in the most festive paper his wallet could handle, but none of it seemed to change his dampening mood. When Rin had invited Haruka and himself to a local outdoor ice rink, Makoto had jumped at the chance. Hope is at the forefront of his mind; wishing that some seasonal fun with his friends would finally put him in the holiday mood.

 

<º)))><

 

“Makoto, you ready?”

 

Makoto is brought out of his thoughts as Haruka waits for him to respond, standing several steps above him that lead up to his house.

 

“Yeah.” He replies while hitching his bag a little higher on his shoulder. Makoto is excited to see his friends at Samezuka, not getting the chance recently since Rin and Sousuke were studying for entrance exams as well. As they descend the stone steps toward the beach that would lead them to the train platform, Makoto takes a glance at Haruka. His best friend looks as impassive as ever, but Makoto knew how excited he is to see Rin. More than likely the leisurely day on the ice would turn into nothing, but races between the two freestyle swimmers. Makoto smiles at the thought, knowing Rin probably had the upper hand since Haruka’s not as swift on land as he is in his beloved water.

 

As they near their platform, Haruka keeps glancing at Makoto. Sensing something on his mind, Makoto asks, “Is everything ok, Haru?”

 

“You’ve been a little different lately.” Makoto stops at the question and looks at Haruka. Had he been that obvious? He thought he had been doing pretty good, putting on a smile when he thought about the unforeseeable future. Leaning against one of the support columns of the station, Makoto let’s out a sigh and looks up at the cold winter sky.

 

“I think, there’s something wrong with me Haru. Christmas is coming, but I don’t feel happy.” Makoto glances over at Haruka, but sees that his friend wants him to continue. “My brain keeps telling me that I should be so excited for all the lights, decorations, and gifts, but none of it seems appealing this year. Guess all the changes that are about to happen are kinda ruining my Christmas spirit.” He ends on a half-smile, but knows that Haruka won’t fall for something so fake.

 

Their train pulls up and slows to a stop, ignoring the dour mood that has come over the small station. Makoto bends away from the column to start heading towards the open doors, but is stopped by a hand grabbing at the sleeve of his coat.

 

“Makoto…”

 

“It’s ok Haru,” Makoto softly smiles. “I’m sure I’ll get myself out of this funk. Just gotta think positive.” Haruka slowly releases his coat and they board the train towards Samezuka Academy. Haruka keeps an eye on his tall friend, hoping he can find the words that will put Makoto at ease.

 

<º)))><

 

After arriving at their stop, the boys take a 20 minute walk past where the academy is toward a small shopping district. Makoto had relaxed a little on the way over and tried to think positively. He is going to have a great time with his friends, no need to put them through the same worry that he had put Haruka through just a short time ago. As they get closer to the outdoor rink, Makoto spots a familiar head of red hair being assaulted by a very eager looking blond.

 

“Come on Rin-chan don’t be a downer like Rei-chan! I’m right about this and you know it!!” Nagisa shakes Rin, looking as if he could get an answer faster by annoying their childhood friend. Rei stands a couple feet away, hands hovering around Nagisa; looking like he’s ready to stop his shorter friend. Sousuke holds a smirk on his face, amused by the fact that Rin is putting up with Nagisa for so long. If it were Momo trying to pull this, Rin would have put him into a headlock within seconds.

 

It finally seems that Rin has had enough, pushing Nagisa at arm’s length and holding him there. Nagisa, being the ball of energy that he is, continues to flail his arms and whines at Rin. “Nagisa for the love of everything shut up! It makes no sense that snow at different times of year tastes different. It’s all the same stuff!”

 

Looking up from fretting over Nagisa, Rei straightens his posture and glasses. “Well Rin-san, depending on the air pollution, water quality, and elevation, it can change the very structure of the snow which can be detected in the taste…”

 

“Rei, please don’t encourage him! You know if you agree with him, he’s just gonna have you standing outside at all times of year trying to eat snow and compare it. Do you really want to freeze your balls off for the sake of trying to see if snow tastes different?” Rin gives Rei a suffering look, daring him to argue. Rei glances at Nagisa, seeing that what Rin said would probably come true if he continued to appease to Nagisa’s whims. Swallowing hard, Rei concedes to Rin with a sigh.

 

“You two are no fun! You agree with me don’t you Sou-chan?” Nagisa says sweetly, batting his eyes at the intimidating senior.

 

“There’s no way I’m agreeing to that.” With that final answer, Nagisa slumps in defeat. Turning away from his so-called friends, Nagisa finally spots Haruka and Makoto walking towards the small group.

 

“Haru-chan, Mako-chan! We were starting to think you forgot!!” The short swimmer waves enthusiastically at them, causing Makoto to smile at his antics.

 

“Sorry you guys. Took a little longer getting ready than I thought it would.” Makoto replies bashfully, a hand coming up to the back of his neck in a familiar gesture. Haruka just shakes his head, thinking it’s nice for once not to be the reason for them being a little late. The group heads inside the little building and pay for their rented skates. After placing their bags in the provided lockers and lacing up their skates, Makoto and the rest finally make it onto the ice. This isn’t Makoto’s first time; he usually went skating once a year with his family around this time. Haruka would more often than not join them, but would always mourn the loss of the water’s freedom while being frozen.

 

Makoto glances around the small rink to see how his other friends are doing. Poor Rei is having a hard time keeping his balance with Nagisa trying to goad him into performing tricks; exclaiming all the while that flailing about is not beautiful at all. Rin and Sousuke were just skating next to each other at a leisurely pace, but Rin keeps eyeing Haruka; probably determining the right time to challenge his aloof friend to a race. Makoto feels himself start to relax and really enjoy his time with his friends. Sure he had to break up Haruka and Rin from fighting over who could skate faster and persuade Nagisa away from trying to perform a triple lux, but the laughter that ensued the entire time makes up for those little happenstances.

 

After an hour of skating shenanigans, the group decides it is time to go and grab some lunch. While exiting the rink, Makoto starts to hear Christmas music over the loud speakers that were placed over the rink. The good cheer that came with playing around with his friends fly away, being swiftly replaced by the frustration from before. Noticing that Haruka is busy being wheedled by Nagisa ( _Come on Haru-chan! You’ll buy me hot chocolate, right?_ ), Makoto heads over to where Rin is taking off his skates. Setting beside him, Makoto gathers up his courage.

 

“Rin, can I ask for some advice?”

 

“Sure, but it’s gonna cost you like five whole yen.” Rin smirked. Without hesitation, Makoto started to dig into his pocket for the small coin. “Makoto, geeze, I’m kidding! What’s on your mind?”

 

Shaking his head, Makoto looks down at his skates. “It’s just….Christmas doesn’t feel right this year. I don’t know if it’s because I’m graduating or going to college or what. There’s something stopping me from enjoying Christmas like I normally do…” His voice peters off, not sure what he’s really asking Rin. Rin leans back on the bench they’re sitting on, giving him time to process the words Makoto had just spoken. Eventually Rin sits up and play punches Makoto in the arm.

 

“Sounds like you just need to get a little more involved. I mean, when I dragged Haru to Australia, we did all sorts of things that I know he probably would never do on his own. It was all a lot of fun and it even led him to finding his dream. So, maybe doing a bunch of Christmas things you normally don’t do will help you figure out what’s holding you back from having a good time?” Rin finishes with a smile. Makoto turns toward his friend and smiles. He could always count on Rin for some solid, if not sometimes obvious, advice.

 

“What do you suggest I do?” Rin put a hand in his hair, brushing his bangs back from his face as he thought.

 

“Well…..our schools are joining up to do a combined culture festival, right? How about you be in charge of our swim teams’ Christmas café? I’ll be right there with you to help, but that should definitely help put you in the Christmas spirit!” The Samezuka captain finishes with his arms crossed over his chest and a confident smile. Makoto supposes that could work. He smiles back at Rin and nods his head.

 

“Sounds like a good idea, just hope I can do a good enough job.” For the first time in what felt like forever, Makoto genuinely feels better. He finally believes that he can have the good feelings that are supposed to come with this time of year. As the two finish taking off their skates and put on their shoes, Rin takes pause as he stands up.

 

“You know, Makoto, I understand your frustration with the holiday season. I mean I’m a little disappointed since I know I won’t get what I really want this year.” Makoto looks over at Rin, noticing a strange look on his face.

 

“What is it that you really want?”

 

Rin glances over at Sousuke as he laughs at something Rei must have said, his face softening just a bit. “Just to swim, that’s all I really want…” Rin trails off. Makoto want’s to ask if Rin’s ok, but just as he reaches out, Rin smiles back at Makoto and heads over to the rest of the group. As much as Makoto wants to comfort Rin with any problem or concern he is having, he also knew better than to push answers out of Rin before he’s ready.

 

“Come on Mako-chan! If you don’t hurry up, you’re gonna buy all of our lunches!!” With that little threat, Makoto shakes his head with a grin and rejoins his friends to have what will probably be an entertaining lunch, to say the least.

 

<º)))><

 

It’s a couple days later that the swim teams from Iwatobi and Samezuka reconvene at Samezuka Academy to get the final details set for their café. Makoto is still a little nervous about taking a leading role in planning everything. The previous days had him skyping with Rin getting a rough idea of what they were going to do and how they were going to go about it. It is actually pretty fun and Makoto could definitely see this whole project bringing him into the Christmas spirit.

 

The Iwatobi gang enter the Samezuka pool area, now converted into a small meeting place with chairs, tables, and even a roll-out whiteboard. With the Samezuka team already there, it’s pretty noisy to say the least. Rin, who is standing next to the whiteboard while joking around with Sousuke, is the first one to spot Makoto and his team.

 

“Alright guys settle down! We got some work to do now that Iwatobi is here.” Rin calls out to his team. It always amazes Makoto to see Rin in captain mode. He’s so used to joking around Rin or even over emotional Rin, but this Rin is so calm and in control. Rin gestures to Makoto for him to come to the front of the group. Rei, Nagisa, and Haruka sit amongst the Samezuka team as they wait for their captains to commence the meeting.

 

“So as we all know, the Iwatobi and Samezuka swim teams are joining to make a Christmas café for the joint cultural festival. Makoto here will be taking charge, so I expect everyone to give him the attention and respect he deserves.” Rin turns his gaze to Makoto. Nodding his thanks, Makoto directs his focus to the group. His own team has all eyes on him, but he notices that some of the Samezuka members appear a little skeptical. Thinking about it, they had never really seen Makoto take charge and that probably gave them pause as to whether he could actually lead. Taking a quick moment to remind himself he could do this, Makoto takes a breath and addresses both teams.

 

“I’m Makoto Tachibana, third year, and current captain of the Iwatobi swim team. Rin asked if I could head the cause of getting our joint Christmas café ready and I think with everyone’s help, we can make that happen!” Makoto pauses to gauge the reaction of the Samezuka team, though glancing up at Nagisa with his thumbs up is more than enough to make him believe he’s doing a good job. “Now if anyone wants to make a suggestion as to what exactly we should do, I’m all ears.”

 

“What if we have all the guests wear ugly Christmas sweaters?” One Samezuka swimmer supplies.

 

“That might be a cute idea.” Makoto makes note of it on the board.

 

“Dude we totally should have a tree decorating contest!” Another shouts.

 

“I mean we could try…”

 

“Oh we could dress up like Reindeer and dance for the customers!!” Nagisa exclaims while waving his hands.

 

“Nagisa I don’t think….”

 

And it quickly disintegrates from there. Makoto tries to get everyone’s attention again, but it’s to no avail. The ideas get more and more ridiculous; he even hears Momotaro suggest a bug catching contest within the café. Makoto is about to raise his voice once more, but Rin beats him to it.

 

“YO! PAY ATTENTION TO MAKOTO OR I’M MAKING YOU ALL SWIM 100 LAPS RIGHT NOW!” The two captains are met with silence and looks of guilt. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Ai slowly raise his hand.

 

“Yes, Nitori-kun?” Ai stands and looks at Makoto with uncertainty.

 

“Maybe we could dress up like Santa as we serve the guests? And their food could come with little wrapped gifts that were made by us?” Makoto smiles and he can see Rin give Ai a nod of approval.

 

“That sounds like a great idea Nitori-kun. How about we place it to a vote?” Ai’s idea gets an overwhelming majority of votes, though Nagisa still pouts that it would be amazing to see Rei dressed up and dancing around. Now that they have finally narrowed down what they were actually going to do, the swim teams spend the next two hours planning out the logistics of the café and what responsibilities everyone has.

 

“Alright, Nagisa, you’ll be in charge of getting the supplies for the gifts we’re gonna make. Think you can handle that?” Rin asks, thinking that would be the safest job for his short friend. Lord knows he isn’t about to put Nagisa in charge of cooking any time soon.

 

“Sure can Rin-chan!” Rin turns around to direct some of the other swimmers on what their roles are, but Nagisa stays behind him. As Rin is talking, Nagisa gestures and mocks Rin, making the other boys laugh.

 

“What’s so funny?” Rin turns to look behind himself and spots Nagisa putting on an innocent act, whistling the entire time. Rin shakes his head and continues to explain what needs to be done and Nagisa continues to mimic. Without warning, Rin whips around, put’s Nagisa in a headlock, and ruffles the blond’s hair.

 

“I knew you were mocking me! Now quit fooling around and get to work!” Rin pushes Nagisa off and gets blown a raspberry in return. Makoto watches this all and smiles to himself as he sees Rin coming over to him.

 

“Alright so everyone now knows what they’re doing. Haru gave me some trouble after I told him he should carve more of those Iwatobi-chans. He’s all like, ‘It’s way too much trouble’ but I just told him he could swim in our pool after we’re done and he agreed way too fast.” They both laugh at that, not surprised by Haruka giving in to the promise of water. “The only thing left is to get a Christmas tree for the café centerpiece, but I’m not sure if we can afford one with our budget….”

 

“I’ll think of something.” Makoto supplies. This is important after all. What is Christmas without a tree? Surely Makoto could get them a tree with no problem at all.

                                                                     

<º)))><

 

“7000 yen for a fake tree!?” Makoto pales at the price as he stands in front of a plethora of Christmas trees in Iwatobi’s local shopping center. Haruka looks like he’s ready to head towards the swim wear section, knowing there is no way they could afford any of those overpriced pieces of plastic. Makoto sighs at the sad 2000 yen bill in his hand. He’s at a loss for what to do. Living in a seaside town, there’s no way to get a real tree and he couldn’t go back to Samezuka emptyhanded. Turning away from the disappointing display, Makoto decides that he would try a couple other stores before giving up. As he motions for Haruka to follow, Makoto spots a small table in the back corner behind the expensive Christmas trees.

 

As Makoto draws closer, he sees that the table is cluttered with what appears to be stock from last year’s Christmas. Most of its gaudy ornaments and stockings in patterns no person could ever truly want, but there is one thing that caught Makoto’s eye. There leaning against the table in a very tattered looking box, is a 3ft Christmas tree. Makoto reaches for the box and opens it; taking out the small tree. The poor thing had more space between the branches than actual branches and the plastic pole in the middle of the tree must have been broken since the tree sat at a 75 degree angle, but it couldn’t have been more perfect in Makoto’s eyes. He imagines decorating it with everyone in the swim club, having a good time, and finally seeing the results of all the hard work they had done. Makoto could feel warmth flooding him at the thought and snatches up the tree. Peering down at the price sticker, his good mood soared at the sight of 500 yen.

 

“Makoto, did you find something?” Makoto quickly turns around and shows his Christmas miracle to his best friend. Haruka looks down and quirks an eyebrow. “If that’s what you want…” Haruka shrugs and walks towards the registers. Makoto clutches the tree to his chest and follows Haruka to pay for his find, knowing this is the thing that will finally bring back his Christmas spirit.

 

<º)))><

 

The day before the festival starts, Makoto brings the tree to Samezuka and props the box in the back, choosing to help set up everything else before getting to the main event of decorating the tree. Everything is crazy, but Makoto is enjoying every second of it. From the food prep, to the wrapping of the small gifts, to the setting up of the tables; it is exactly what Makoto needs. The comradery of his teammates and the good sore feeling from lots of hard labor is putting Makoto in a great mood.

 

“Hahaha!! What in the world even is this thing?” Makoto glances over his shoulder and sees that Momotaro had found the tree for the café. He keeps turning it this way and that, appearing that he’s trying to figure out the world’s greatest mystery.

 

“Mikoshiba-kun please stop…”

 

“Dude you guys have to see this! It’s like the saddest looking Christmas tree ever made!!” Makoto just stops. Everyone is now looking at Momotaro and in turn, looking at the tree Makoto had thought was perfect. He hears people start to laugh and gather around his little tree; one Samezuka swimmer even picks it up and begin to wave it around like a sword. Makoto feels his stomach drop. Who is he kidding? Makoto thought he could lead these two teams and do something worthwhile; do something that would make the whole holiday seem so much brighter. Keeping his face downturned, Makoto exits the classroom and away from the mockery of his once-perfect tree.

 

<º)))><

 

Makoto hears someone enter the enclosed pool area about half an hour after he found himself there. He doesn’t look up from where his feet are dangling in the pool; not really caring who it is. Makoto feels the water ripple beside him and glances up through his bangs at the newcomer. Haruka didn’t try to catch Makoto’s attention, just sits patiently beside his friend just in case he wanted to talk. Makoto turns his attention back to the water and tries to think how he wants to voice what is bothering him.

 

“I guess it is kinda dumb of me to pick that tree?” Makoto starts. “My whole idea was that we could fix it up together and have a great time doing it, but that’s not what anyone else wanted. I probably shouldn’t have been selfish and tried to figure out how to get a nicer tree…”

 

“Makoto!” He flinches as Haruka raises his voice. It’s rare and Makoto knows to be quiet when it happens; usually meaning Haruka has something to say. “It was wrong of Mikoshiba to do that and you deserve an apology for it, but is that what’s really bothering you?”

 

Makoto just stares at Haruka for a moment. How did he always forget how observant Haruka became when he truly wanted to be? Makoto allows himself a small chuckle and shakes his head, looking back out across the pool. “Remember when I told you that I wasn’t feeling Christmas this year? I think it’s because I know this is my last Christmas like this. We’ll be in Tokyo come fall next year and I might not have the ability to come home. I won’t be able to watch Ran and Ren open their gifts or set up the tree with Mom and Dad or even have you come over to eat Christmas dinner with my family. I’m just…scared. Scared that everything is going to change and I won’t be able to come back home and it be the same.” A heavy silence hangs over their heads as Makoto finishes. He has never voiced his fears out loud, not wanting to burden anyone else with his silly problems. Yet after his fight with Haruka in the summer, Makoto knew better than to hide from his best friend when he asked.

 

“That’s dumb.” Makoto jerks away from Haruka as if he had physically slapped him, but Haruka continues. “If I’ve learned anything this summer, things change all the time. Your teammates each year, your style of swimming, or even the feel of the water. Everything changes. But….that’s not always bad, Makoto. So…even if you’re in Tokyo for Christmas next year, you can skype with Ran and Ren as they open their presents and you can get ornaments in Tokyo that your parents have never seen and send it to them so it’ll be like you helped with the tree. And I’ll be there with you for Christmas dinner at your apartment as long as you promise me to let me cook. The setting or circumstances will probably change, but Christmas will always mean the same thing. Sharing time with people you love and letting them know you care.

 

Haruka falls silent after that and Makoto doesn’t think he’s ever heard him speak that much. Haruka’s words ring so true that Makoto can’t help, but smile. How he didn’t come to this conclusion himself, Makoto will never know, but he’s never been more thankful or prouder to call Haruka his best friend.

 

“Besides, I like the tree you picked. It’s very Makoto.” Haruka lifts his head and gives Makoto a soft smile. A small blush adorns Makoto’s cheeks with that little confession.

 

Trying to save what little dignity he has left, Makoto stands and offers a hand to Haruka to help him up. Once they are both standing, they head back to the café to see if they could help with damage control. What Makoto doesn’t expect is to enter and find his tree, front and center, and looking straight out of a Christmas catalogue. Garland of all colors fill in the gaps between the sparse branches with ornaments tastefully hung. The white lights highlight the tree nicely and he couldn’t help, but smile at the little shark on top in place of an angel. Makoto couldn’t have dreamed of a better looking tree. It’s then that Rin and Momotaro come forward, the younger looking a little sheepish.

 

“Tachibana-senpai, I’m really sorry for making fun of the tree you picked out. It was actually super fun to see how we could make it look better and I hope you like it!” Seeing Momotaro, who is normally so rambunctious, acting so timid has Makoto stepping forward and placing a hand on his shoulder.

 

“It’s more than I could ask for.” He turns towards the entire group. “Thank you everyone for doing such a great job!” Makoto looks at Rin and Rin just smiles before inhaling deeply.

 

“3, 2, 1!”

 

“Merry Christmas Makoto!” Everyone yells, even Haruka pipes in; though quitter than the rest. Makoto gives his biggest smile yet, at last feeling the Christmas spirit he had been chasing for so long.

**Author's Note:**

> Alternatively titled "Makoto Struggles With the Concept of Leaving Iwatobi and It's Kinda Ruining His Christmas"


End file.
